Phoshime
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Jeffrey L. Schwartz (cf. "Durian pizza" [10/18/19]) posted this photo on Facebook, showing a midtown Manhattan Asian fusion restaurant called Phoshime:
Since it's a "Vietnamese kitchen & sushi bar," the name would seem to be a blend of "pho" and "sashimi." But what explains the final "e"? Is this also intended to be a pun in Japanese? Does it have anything to do with 節目 "fùshímé", meaning "turning point, critical juncture"?
I was just flailing about like that, even thinking that somehow "phoshi" might reflect "sushi", but then what becomes of the "me"?
The name "Phoshime" was driving me nuts for awhile, but I finally figured it out when I realized that "shime" is an important term in Japanese foodways.
"What is Shime often referred to in Japanese food?", by aki, Kodawari Times (3/18/23)
Written in kanji, it is “締め”. Sometimes it is written with a simplified kanji, “〆”. I think that it derives from the verb "shimeru" ("close; shut; tie"), though that should be confirmed by Japanese specialists.
Basically it means a last dish added to something more major / substantial you were eating or drinking beforehand, such as rice or noodles put in the soup that remains after you've had a long nabe (hot pot) meal. Or you go to a shop for a light snack after you've been consuming heavier things earlier in the evening.
So "Phoshime" < pho + shime.
I think so.
Selected readings
- "Sushi in Sochi" (2/27/14)
- "Awesome sushi barbecue restaurant" (8/8/18)
- "Phở" (5/17/23)
- "Diacriticless Vietnamese on a sign in San Francisco" (9/30/18)
[h.t. Ben Zimmer]
rpsms said,
August 7, 2024 @ 10:13 am
Don't forget "faux" not the same sound but "pho-" rymes with faux to Americans even if they know it is "fuh"
Francis Deblauwe said,
August 7, 2024 @ 11:29 am
Isn't "-hime" often used to indicate "princess" in Japanese? That leaves that "s" of course: maybe just to make it more easy to pronounce for English speakers?
Elizabeth Okada said,
August 7, 2024 @ 2:03 pm
The "shime" explanation makes sense to me because it also can mean some noodles you eat to top off a night of drinking. This can offset some of the worst effects of the alcohol and clear your head before you go home.
Philip Taylor said,
August 7, 2024 @ 3:26 pm
At my wife's hotel in Cornwall we serve both faux beef (for vegans) and beef phở. Many of the western staff struggle with achieving a moderately authentic pronunciation for phở, and most just fall back on /fəʊ/ or /foʊ/. As you can imagine, the possibilities for misunderstanding cannot be over-stated, especially as the latter appears on the menu as "Phở with Beef or Chicken" which is invariably abbreviated in order slips for the kitchen to "Pho Beef" or "Pho Chicken". When one of the chefs recently said "Sorry, we are out of /foʊ/ beef", I really had no idea to which of the two he was referring.
cameron said,
August 7, 2024 @ 6:43 pm
some people must order beef pho with faux beef just for the thrill of it